Units are set to open but hotel plan stagnates

A set of retail units at Wigan’s Robin Park is nearing completion but the future of a hotel and restaurant development remains uncertain.

New builds on the main car park area of the retail park will see Subway, mobile company EE and a Costa open outlets.

Meanwhile, Carphone Warehouse (CW) is moving into the fourth new unit with a KFC drive-through replacing CW in its current location adjacent to the fresh development.

However, a year on since exciting plans were revealed for another section of Robin Park, it remains unknown when construction work is due to start.

Planning permission was granted last year for a two-storey development opposite Empire Cinema that will house a 68-bed hotel along with two restaurants.

Popular chain Nando’s is attached to the project, according to the planning documents, but no progress has been made during the past 12 months.

A well-known budget hotel chain is understood to also be attached to the project but no details have been released.

A spokesman for Nando’s told the Observer no updates were available and was not able to reveal a timescale.

Planning permission for the hotel expires in May 2019, meaning the development will have to start before that date.

The retail units on the main shopping area of Robin Park are expected to open in time for the summer months as parking and access to the site has been affected in recent weeks during the construction phase.